Famous Panther of the Class 1933 Connie Curtis (Pee Wee) Crayton

Pee Wee Crayton was one of the giants of the post World War II West Coast guitar sound. It has been a mystery as to why he has been given so little acclaim for his work. Hopefully, with this new collection on Blind Pig Records, Early Hour Blues, a new generation of blues lovers will discover Pee Wee Crayton.

Born December 18, 1914, Liberty Hill, Texas Date of Death August 25, 1985

Author and Team Builder

Chief Justice of Texas Supreme Court

Liberty Hill School Class 1899

HICKMAN, JOHN EDWARD (1883-1962). John Edward Hickman, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1948 to 1961, was born at Liberty Hill, Williamson County, Texas, on March 28, 1883. By 1902 he had graduated from Liberty Hill Normal and Business College and taught briefly at a rural school at Hog Mountain in Bell County. Following summer study at Southwestern University, he attended the University of Texas from 1904 to 1906. After serving as principal and baseball coach at Lampasas High School, he entered the law department of the University of Texas. He graduated in 1910 and became quizmaster for the class of 1911. He practiced law briefly in Austin and then in Dublin, Texas. While practicing law at Breckenridge, Hickman was elected associate justice of the Eleventh Court of Civil Appeals at Eastland; he took office on January 4, 1927. Governor Daniel J. Moody appointed Hickman chief justice of that court on February 4, 1928. In May 1935 Hickman was appointed by the Supreme Court to Section A of the Supreme Court's Commission of Appeals. When the membership of the Supreme Court was increased to nine, Hickman and other commissioners took the oath as associate justices, on September 21, 1945. After the death of the chief justice, Governor Beauford Jester appointed Hickman to that high post, for which he qualified on January 7, 1948. In the general election of that year Hickman was elected, and he was re-elected in 1954. In 1952-53 He became the first Texas jurist to serve as chairman of the National Conference of State Chief Justices. He was awarded the Hatton W. Sumners Award for "outstanding services" by the Southwestern Legal Foundation. He was honored by many organizations and received honorary degrees from Southwestern University and Southern Methodist University; he served the latter school as a trustee after 1921. Justice Robert Calvert recorded that Hickman inaugurated the practice of full court consideration of application for writ of error so that no litigant rights would be determined by only one "section" of the court. Hickman retired from the court in 1961 and died in Austin on April 26, 1962.

BRYSON, JAMES GORDON (1884-1968). James Gordon Bryson, physician and author Bryson, was born on October 6, 1884, in Liberty Hill. He graduated from the University of Texas medical school in Galveston in 1910. During his 37 year career he became one of the best-known general practitioners in Central Texas. He was a member of the Texas Medical Association. He retired in 1947 and spent much of his time working his Bastrop County farm. He also served as mayor of Bastrop from 1946 to 1950, as well as school board president for several terms between 1923. Bryson returned to the University of Texas at the age of seventy-two to study history. Two books resulted: Reminiscences of a Country Doctor, first published in 1963 and reissued in 1965 under the title One Hundred Dollars and a Horse; and Shin Oak Ridge (1965). Bryson was a Mason, a Democrat, and a Methodist. He died in Bastrop on August 2, 1968, and was buried at Liberty Hill Cemetery.

A Fellow and President of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers

The late Kraft W. Eidman was born on January 17, 1912 in Liberty Hill, Texas. He received an A.B. in 1932 and an LL.B. in 1935 from The University of Texas, where he was associate editor of the Texas Law Review, was a member of Chancellors at the Law School and of the Friar Society at the University. There was no chink in the professional armor of Kraft Warner Eidman. In 1960 he served as president of the Houston Bar Association. He was also a fellow and president of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as a member of the Dean's Council of the University of Texas Law School, as president of the University of Texas Law School Alumni Association and as president and trustee of The University of Texas Law School Foundation. In 1978 Mr. Eidman was designated a Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas. He also served as Trustee and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Development Board, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and as a trustee of the M. D. Anderson Foundation. He was president of the International Association of Insurance Counsel. He was a great trial lawyer of the highest integrity. The late Chief Justice of the United States Warren Burger appointed him as a member of the Anglo American Exchange in 1977 to amplify cordial relations between United Kingdom trial lawyers and those of the United States. All lawyers would do well to use him and his dedication to and love of his profession as a role model for their careers.

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